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Tirek (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
Lord Tirek (simply known as Tirek) is one of the main antagonists of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. He is a demonic centaur with the power to drain the magic and abilities out of other creatures, particularly ponies. He is Friendship is Magic's incarnation of Tirek; the first villain of the original series. He first appears as the main antagonist in Season 4's finale "Twilight's Kingdom" and reappears as the secondary antagonist in Season 8's finale "School Raze". He is voiced by Mark Acheson, who also played Unicron in Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Energon, Moses Tripoli in Fargo, and Sabretooth in Hulk Vs. Appearance Similarly to his original incarnation, Tirek is a demonic-looking being with elements of a centaur. His lower body is black, with a white horse tail and cloven hooves. His upper body appears to be covered in black fur, except his arms and face, which are crimson red. He has a pair of horns and a white beard, his eyes are jet black with yellow pupils. He dons steel bracelets which seem to be all that remains of his shackles, a steel collar, and a ring in his nose. He also wears a gold amulet that is a keepsake from Scorpan. Unlike his bestal yet human-looking face from his original incarnation, his face has a more primate-like or bull-like shape. In the beginning Tirek appears far smaller than he was in the original series. He is also scrawny and old-looking. However, the more power he absorbs, the bigger and nastier he gets. Notably, he becomes much more muscular, grows more hair, and his horns grow much longer. After he absorbs the power of the five main characters (sans Twilight), his shackle bracelets shatter. Personality Befitting his status as a revamp of one of the original show's darkest characters, Tirek is extremely power-hungry, oppressive, brutal, abusive and selfish. He wants to have complete and utter dominion over all of Equestria, and he will stop at nothing to accomplish this goal. However, he does not kill his enemies, preferring to leave them alive, but powerless, to better oppress them. Tirek is also very quick to anger, and his wrath is absolutely terrifying to behold. Despite this, Tirek is not purely a brute as he was patient enough to wait for a long time after escaping Tartarus, recovering just enough power to become able to launch an assault on ponies. He is also an expert manipulator who cannot be trusted. He was even able to persuade Discord, himself known as an expert master of puppets, into joining him, only to betray him and consume his power after gaining enough magic to do so. Despite this, he will sometimes keep his word, but only when he feels he's not really losing anything out of the deal, such as when he released Twilight's depowered friends. Tirek seems to be quite lucid, because he did not understand how Twilight could still consider Discord as his friend after the way he betrayed him. Despite Tirek's low opinion on friendship and ponies, he conspired with Cozy Glow to get his revenge on the Mane Six. He even referred to Cozy Glow as his "little protégé". Biography Backstory Along with his brother Scorpan, Tirek used to be the princes of their own kingdom. One day, Tirek went to visit an old centaur wizard called Sendak the Elder. Though at first Scorpan said they had to return to the castle because their parents could be worried for them, Tirek ignored Scorpan and once on Sendak's house. He told Tirek everything about pony magic and how he captured one when he traveled to Equestria. Tirek and Scorpan returned to the castle where their parents, King Vorak and Queen Haydon were arguing until they enter on. That night, Tirek and Scorpan talked about their parents relations with them and when everyone went to sleep, Tirek went out the castle to find out more about pony magic. Once in Sendak (who was taking a nap)'s house, Tirek tries to make the same ability that Sendak used to steal the pony's magic until Sendak woke up just to see how Tirek's spell of absorbing magic just causes a great explosion that traps Sendak under a pile of rubble. Sendak asks Tirek for help, but he abandons him and sneaks back to the castle. The next day, it is revealed that Sendak was rescued by Vorak's guards, but was sentenced to work in the mines for the rest of his life. Vorak asks Tirek where he was the night when the explosion happened and Tirek explains that he never left the castle. However, his father doesn't believe him and confines Tirek along with Scorpan to their chamber. Tirek is last seen in the balcony where he swears that one day he will overthrow his father and finish what Sendak couldn't: Rule over Equestria. A thousand years prior to the series, Tirek and his brother Scorpan tried to take over Equestria; but when Scorpan came to appreciate Equestria and became friends with Starswirl the Bearded, he tried to turn Tirek away from his quest. Tirek refused, and Scorpan warned Celestia and Luna of his brother's ambitions, and, because of this, they were able to imprison Tirek in Tartarus for his crimes while Scorpan returned to his homeland. Season 4 In "Twilight's Kingdom", it is revealed that when Cerberus left his post at the gates of Tartarus (in "It's About Time"), Tirek was able to escape. After spending his time free recovering his strength, he had eventually regained enough power to absorb a unicorn's magic. Celestia received a vision of this and sent Discord after Tirek, as he could sense magical imbalances and therefore make it easy for him to find Tirek. Discord, using the guise of a unicorn, discovered Tirek in alleyway and confronts him. Tirek initially commends Discord for his "escape" from his imprisonment, only for Discord to bind him with shackles, revealing that he had switched alignments and is reimprisoning Tirek for his friends. Taking advantage of this new revelation, Tirek convinced Discord that his friendship was a new form of prison and that, if they worked together, he could get the one this friendship could never give him; freedom. With Discord now at his side, Tirek began devouring the energy and magic from unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies alike from all across Equestria, regaining almost all of his strength. Knowing that he would seek alicorn magic next, Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence, with no options left, called upon Twilight and entrusted all of their magic to her, as Tirek was not aware of the existence of a fourth Princess. As expected, Tirek and Discord assaulted Canterlot in search of the Princesses' magic, only to find the three Princesses without it. Still assured of his victory, Tirek ironically banished the three Princesses to Tartarus and approached Discord, who was comically altering Celestia's stained glass windows. Seeing the window depicting Twilight, Tirek demanded to know why Discord didn't tell him about the fourth Princess. Discord stated that he wasn't sure if Tirek could be fully trusted, but now knowing that he is, tells him about Twilight and her friends. As a sign of gratitude, Tirek gives Discord a medallion that he received from "somebody close to him". Tirek and Discord then headed to Ponyville and captured Twilight's best friends, Tirek draining their power before doing the same to Discord, telling him that he has outlived his usefulness, revealing that his medallion actually came from Scorpan, and that Discord is as worthless to him as his brother was. Growing to tremendous size from the magic he absorbed, Tirek sought out Twilight, obliterating her home of the Golden Oak Library in his search, enraging her and driving them to fight in an epic battle. The two were evenly matched, though Twilight seemed to have a slight advantage, and so Tirek revealed the other Mane 5, Spike, and Discord, imprisoned inside orbs. Tirek told Twilight to give him all the alicorn magic in Equestria in exchange for her friend's release, and she agreed, and Tirek released all except Discord, who Twilight then wanted to be released as well. Although not understanding why Twilight would want Discord after he betrayed her, Tirek complies and drained her of all the alicorn magic, increasing his size and strength to titanic proportions. To thank her for her kindness, Discord gave Twilight Scorpan's medallion, this time out of legitimate gratitude, making it the final key to the Tree of Harmony box. Unlocking the box, the Mane 6 receive Rainbow Power, and confront Tirek with their new abilities. Tirek fires at them with a massive magical blast, only to be confused when his attack has no effect on them. A distressed Tirek asks how it is possible for the Ponies to be undamaged without magic, and Twilight responds by telling him that she possesses the most powerful magic of all; friendship. The Mane 6 then attack Tirek, draining him of his stolen magic and reimprisoning him in Tartarus, undoing all of his actions. Season 5 In "The Cutie Map - Part 1", Tirek is mentioned by Rainbow Dash when she reminds Twilight that they along with the rest of the Mane Six, have opened all six keys of friendship, defeated Tirek and received a castle of their own. In "Crusaders Of the Lost Mark", Tirek was mentioned again by Pipsqueak, who stated that his battle with Twilight was the cause of the poor conditioning of the schoolyard. In "The Cutie Remark - Part 2", in the fourth alternate timeline created by Starlight Glimmer, without the Mane 6 to stop him, Tirek succeeds in draining all the magic in Equestria and is briefly seen causing destruction. Season 7 In "Shadow Play", Pinkie Pie mentions Tirek while recounting the threats Equestria has faced over the last thousand years to Starswirl the Bearded. Season 8 In "The Mean Six", while not mentioned by name, Pinkie Pie briefly recounts the battle between the Mane 6 and Tirek while talking to Twilight (who, in reality, was a clone created by Queen Chrysalis). Tirek reappears in Season 8's two-part finale, in which it's revealed that he is pen pals with Cozy Glow. He also conspired with Cozy for the sake of getting revenge. Cozy Glow was successful in trapping the Mane 6 in Tartarus, during which Tirek told them that Cozy Glow was behind it and his involvement in her plan. However, Twilight reminded him that if they were trapped in Tartarus, he'd be trapped with them for eternity. Pinkie Pie annoyed Tirek to the point of giving Twilight what remained of his magic so the Mane 6 could escape just to get rid of them. After the Young Six broke Cozy Glow's spell, Tirek got his magic back, which hit him in the head and knocked him down. Later, a bored Cerberus lay next to Tirek with him remarking that it may be boring in Tartarus but at least Cerberus isn't in a cage. When Luna and two Royal Guards imprisoned Cozy Glow in Tartarus, in a cage next to Tirek, Cozy Glow asked Tirek if he wanted to be her friend. Season 9 Tirek will appear in the Season 9 premiere "The Beginning of the End" where he is one of a few villains to be recruited by Grogar. Powers and Abilities Tirek has manifested the following abilities so far: *'Magic Drain': In his first appearance, Tirek is shown to be able to consume the magic of ponies, removing their cutie mark in the process - he seems to literally suck this magic into his mouth, like a more kid-friendly version of "soul stealing" (and possibly a flat-out violation of the ponies' selves). A pony drained this way is completely stripped of all magic. Tirek adds the stolen magic to his own, increasing his size and power. The more magic he drains, the bigger and more powerful he becomes. After devouring enough unicorn magic, he becomes able to strip Earth and Pegasi ponies of their innate magic as well. At very high levels of power, he becomes able to strip even an Alicorn or a draconequus of all magic. If Tirek drains the magic of every single pony in Equestria, he effectively becomes its ruler, able to single-handedly control all the aspects of the land that ponies normally regulate collectively. *'Immense Strength': At high levels of power, Tirek displays an enormous degree of super strength. He is able to lift and throw chunks of the earth bigger than himself, flying and hitting Twilight straight through a large mountain, and smash the ground to create a fearsome shock wave. Presumably, his physical power depends on the amount of earth pony magic he has consumed. *'Demonic Magic': Tirek displays a degree of magical power consistent with the amount of magic he has consumed. At low levels of power, he is only able to fire a weak, paltry blast. After consuming enough magic he becomes almost unstoppable. He has displayed enormously powerful energy projection in the form of blasts and beams, the ability to create magical shields, high-level telekinesis, high-level magical entrapment, the ability to create portals, and more. His magic seems to be affiliated with fire. The way he casts spells is unique to him: instead of emitting magic directly from his horns, he instead forms a ball of infernal energy in the empty space between his two horns. *'Durability': Tirek's durability seems to be immense as he survived the magical equivalent of a nuke and even managed to ram himself and Twilight through an entire mountain without seeming to injure himself. Tirek almost never shows any sign of feeling pain (except at rare occasions like when Twilight blasted him in the face) and never seems to be injured at all. He may even be immortal, since the rainbow did not kill him, instead only draining his power and sending him back to Tartarus. Also, like Celestia, he is over a thousand years old. *'Flight': During his battle against Twilight, he is capable of wingless flight, which would be consistent with him stealing Pegasus magic. Reception Lord Tirek received positive reception from critics and fans of the show. He is praised for being evil, intimidating, threatening, manipulative, powerful, his abilities, and is considered by many to be the biggest and strongest foe ever faced in MLP:FIM. Even showrunner Meghan McCarthy said that Tirek is her "new favorite character". His voice actor Mark Acheson is praised for his performance. Tirek is one of the most popular villains in the Brony fandom, the others are Discord and Queen Chrysalis. His popularity and reception are likely the reason he returned in Season 8. Episodes and Appearances My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4 *Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1 *Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2 Season 5 *The Cutie Map - Part 1 (mentioned) *Crusaders of the Lost Mark (mentioned) *The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2 (alternate-timeline) Season 7 *Shadow Play - Part 2 (mentioned) Season 8 *School Raze - Part 1 *School Raze - Part 2 Season 9 *The Beginning of the End - Part 1 *The Beginning of the End - Part 2 Comics Friendship is Magic *Ponyville Days (cameo) *Night of the Living Apples (mentioned) Friends Forever *Friends Forever Issue 20 (mentioned) My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic *My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic Issue 1 (cameo) *My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic Issue 2 Differences from G1 Tirek *In the original show, Tirek uses the Rainbow of Darkness to transform ponies and other creatures into monsters. In FiM, he eats unicorn magic, and eventually the power of Pegasi and earth ponies, and increases his size and power. *FiM Tirek shoots energy waves with his horns while classic Tirek only seems to use the Rainbow of Darkness or attack physically (although he did cause an explosion to blow up part of the wall of his castle). *Classic Tirek wanted to bring eternal darkness, while FiM Tirek simply wanted power. *FiM Tirek is Scorpan's brother while classic Tirek turned a prince into Scorpan and forced him to work for him, threatening to behead Spike after Scorpan's repeated failures. *FiM Tirek has a few appearance differences from classic Tirek, such as a white beard and tail, a longer tail, a nose ring, and no spikes on his wrists. His wrist braces also break when he becomes big enough. *FiM Tirek does not ride a Chariot of Midnight. *Classic Tirek is destroyed while FiM Tirek is re imprisoned in Tartarus. However, one similarity is that both were defeated by a rainbow. Trivia *In his fully-powered state, Tirek is easily the most powerful antagonist in FiM (much as he was in the original series). After consuming enough magic, he surpasses even Discord in power. However, despite the raw power he possesses, he is not as skilled with it as the Draconequus is; Tirek mostly uses the magic of others to fuel his own familiar offensive spells, rather than reshaping reality at will as Discord does. *He is considered as one of the evilest villains in Friendship is Magic, along with Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra. However, while those two villains were never presented with any attempts at befriending them, Tirek is shown to have consciously flat-out rejected the very concept of friendship with the ponies of Equestria, his brother Scorpan, and Discord, believing it to be weakness. **However, in the comics, King Sombra was offered a chance to change his evil ways by Princess Amore and maintain his friendship with Radiant Hope, only to refuse, turn Amore into crystal, and shatter her into pieces in front of his former friend. Also, the comics depicted Sombra as less evil and murderous than in the show because Amore survived this, and Sombra eventually reformed. **Also, after the Changelings reformed in "To Where and Back Again", Queen Chrysalis was given a chance to do the same by Starlight Glimmer, but adamantly refuses and swears revenge on Starlight. Also in the "Mean Six", Queen Chrysalis shares a low opinion on friendship after a petty argument between her and clone Twilight. *Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Queen Chrysalis are the only recurring major villains of the series who did not reform. *Despite the difference in backstory and his relationship with Scorpan from G1, it is given a nod in FiM with Scorpan betraying Tirek for the ponies, though Scorpan never appears in the show. *He seems to be a sort of Satanic archetype for the show. He is obviously a demon, the most powerful antagonist of his show, and beyond a doubt one of the evilest. He corrupts Discord into betraying the Mane Six, and his ultimate ambition is to rule as God of Equestria. *Tirek is the oldest villain in the My Little Pony franchise as he was in his age when Star Swirl the Bearded was a young unicorn. The second ones are the Dazzlings, who were in their age when they were defeated by Star Swirl. **However, in FIENDship is Magic Issue 3, Discord is shown to be present when Tirek was younger, meaning Discord is older and thus, the oldest villain (though he is later reformed). Furthermore, in the show, Tirek is familiar with Discord and is well aware of his imprisonment in stone. **Also, in FIENDship is Magic Issue 4, it is shown that when Starswirl banished the Dazzlings, they appeared in the present day, meaning that they never aged, to begin with. *Tirek is the third male main villain of the series, first two being Discord and King Sombra. Interestingly enough, all three were imprisoned by Celestia and Luna a thousand years ago, while none of the females were (although Nightmare Moon and the Dazzlings were banished a thousand years ago, only Celestia banished Nightmare Moon, and Starswirl banished the Dazzlings). *Tirek's claims of friendship being a form of imprisonment in which those involved are forced to surrender their true nature was eerily predicted in the Season 5 premiere episode "Cutie Map", in which the residents of an unnamed village are made to believe that they must give up their unique talents in order to remain friends with one another by Starlight Glimmer. *Tirek is the first villain to steal the Alicorn magic, the second being the Storm King. *Tirek is the third villain to appear in two two-part episodes, others being Starlight Glimmer and Queen Chrysalis. 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